The Elephant Dance, set within the scenic savannah land with its rich
ora and fauna, illuminates the crisis of endangered wildlife at the mercy
of invasive and destructive human greed. Embedded in the narrative is a
sub-stratum of the destruction of indigenous livelihood and natural
habitats.
The conflict in the novel pits greedy and corrupt poachers led by
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego against an indigenous minority
community of hunters and gatherers led by the elderly Sulunye and Pesi
and their sons Reson and Sena. Roped in are the gallant wildlife
protection o cers, Regina Naitore and Leah Naipande. The indigenous
community's cultural attachment to wildlife and the threat to evict them
from their ancestral land helps to arrest the runaway poaching menace
that has become unmanageable.
With the fate of wildlife and their natural habitats having become a
major talking point in Kenya as well as in the entire Eastern and Central
African region, this story o ers insights on how we can save endangered
animals, especially elephants and rhinos which have become main
targets for poachers who are after their prized horns and tusks. The story
also highlights the problem of land grabbing which displaces animals
from their natural habitats.
